The clinical applicability of sensor technology with body position detection to combat pressure ulcers in bedridden patients

Introduction: Pressure Ulcers (PUs) are a major healthcare issue leading to prolonged hospital stays and decreased quality of life. Monitoring body position changes using sensors could reduce workload, improve turn compliance and decrease PU incidence. Method: This systematic review assessed the clinical applicability of different sensor types capable of in-bed body position detection. Results: We included 39 articles. Inertial sensors were most commonly used (n = 14). This sensor type has high accuracy and is equipped with a 2–4 hour turn-interval warning system increasing turn compliance. The second-largest group were piezoresistive (pressure) sensors (n = 12), followed by load sensors (n = 4), piezoelectric sensors (n = 3), radio wave-based sensors (n = 3) and capacitive sensors (n = 3). All sensor types except inertial sensors showed a large variety in the type and number of detected body positions. However, clinically relevant position changes such as trunk rotation and head of bed elevation were not detected or tested. Conclusion: Inertial sensors are the benchmark sensor type regarding accuracy and clinical applicability but these sensors have direct patient contact and (re)applying the sensors requires the effort of a nurse. Other sensor types without these disadvantages should be further investigated and developed. We propose the Pressure Ulcer Position System (PUPS) guideline to facilitate this.</p

The clinical applicability of sensor technology with body position detection to combat pressure ulcers in bedridden patients

Introduction: Pressure Ulcers (PUs) are a major healthcare issue leading to prolonged hospital stays and decreased quality of life. Monitoring body position changes using sensors could reduce workload, improve turn compliance and decrease PU incidence. Method: This systematic review assessed the clinical applicability of different sensor types capable of in-bed body position detection. Results: We included 39 articles. Inertial sensors were most commonly used (n = 14). This sensor type has high accuracy and is equipped with a 2–4 hour turn-interval warning system increasing turn compliance. The second-largest group were piezoresistive (pressure) sensors (n = 12), followed by load sensors (n = 4), piezoelectric sensors (n = 3), radio wave-based sensors (n = 3) and capacitive sensors (n = 3). All sensor types except inertial sensors showed a large variety in the type and number of detected body positions. However, clinically relevant position changes such as trunk rotation and head of bed elevation were not detected or tested. Conclusion: Inertial sensors are the benchmark sensor type regarding accuracy and clinical applicability but these sensors have direct patient contact and (re)applying the sensors requires the effort of a nurse. Other sensor types without these disadvantages should be further investigated and developed. We propose the Pressure Ulcer Position System (PUPS) guideline to facilitate this.</p

A comparison of alternative approaches to MR cardiac triggering: A pilot study at 3 Tesla

This pilot comparative study evaluates the usability of the alternative approaches to magnetic resonance (MR) cardiac triggering based on ballistocardiography (BCG): fiber-optic sensor (O-BCG) and pneumatic sensor (P-BCG). The comparison includes both the objective and subjective assessment of the proposed sensors in comparison with a gold standard of ECG-based triggering. The objective evaluation included several image quality assessment (IQA) parameters, whereas the subjective analysis was performed by 10 experts rating the diagnostic quality (scale 1 - 3, 1 corresponding to the best image quality and 3 the worst one). Moreover, for each examination, we provided the examination time and comfort rating (scale 1 - 3). The study was performed on 10 healthy subjects. All data were acquired on a 3 T SIEMENS MAGNETOM Prisma. In image quality analysis, all approaches reached comparable results, with ECG slightly outperforming the BCG-based methods, especially according to the objective metrics. The subjective evaluation proved the best quality of ECG (average score of 1.68) and higher performance of P-BCG (1.97) than O-BCG (2.03). In terms of the comfort rating and total examination time, the ECG method achieved the worst results, i.e. the highest score and the longest examination time: 2.6 and 10:49 s, respectively. The BCG-based alternatives achieved comparable results (P-BCG 1.5 and 8:06 s; OBCG 1.9, 9:08 s). This study confirmed that the proposed BCG-based alternative approaches to MR cardiac triggering offer comparable quality of resulting images with the benefits of reduced examination time and increased patient comfort.Web of Science2662605259

Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2)

Every day, malicious actors target emerging technologies and medical resilience or seek to wreak havoc in the wake of disasters brought on by climate change, energy insecurity, and supply-chain disruptions. Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield is a handbook on how to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience in an era of emerging threats. The counterterrorism research produced for this volume is in alignment with NATO’s Warfighting Capstone Concept, which details how NATO Allies can transform and maintain their advantage despite new threats for the next two decades. The topics are rooted in NATO’s Seven Baseline requirements, which set the standard for enhancing resilience in every aspect of critical infrastructure and civil society. As terrorists hone their skills to operate lethal drones, use biometric data to target innocents, and take advantage of the chaos left by pandemics and natural disasters for nefarious purposes, NATO forces must be prepared to respond and prevent terrorist events before they happen. Big-data analytics provides potential for NATO states to receive early warning to prevent pandemics, cyberattacks, and kinetic attacks. NATO is perfecting drone operations through interoperability exercises, and space is being exploited by adversaries. Hypersonic weapons are actively being used on the battlefield, and satellites have been targeted to take down wind farms and control navigation. This handbook is a guide for the future, providing actionable information and recommendations to keep our democracies safe today and in the years to come.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1953/thumbnail.jp

Determination of Lying Posture through Recognition of Multitier Body Parts

In this paper, we propose a lying posture discrimination algorithm to monitor the behavior pattern of a person lying in bed. Using FSR (force sensing resistor) sensors arranged in a grid structure, three major body parts such as head, shoulder, and hips are identified, and six lying positions are determined based on these body parts. Head, shoulder, and hips are relatively high in pressure and are easy to distinguish due to low movement. In addition, we have effectively limited the search space to identify the above body parts based on standard body dimensions. Experimental results show that there is a correlation between pressure distribution and lying posture. The results of this study can be applied to the monitoring of sleep posture and can also be used as an aid to prevent fall accidents and the occurrence of pressure ulcers of elderly patients who are unable to move

How the Qaddafi regime was driven into nuclear disarmament

How can we drive atomic renegades – states that run illegal nuclear weapons programs – into disarmament with the help of negotiations? This question, which puts the design of negotiation strategies at the focus of attention, has puzzled foreign policy makers for decades. It has, thus far, lost nothing of its relevance. But despite its importance, bargaining dynamics with atomic renegade states – so-called Nuclear Reversal Negotiations (NRN) – were largely omitted in International Relations (IR) literature. A systematic and theoretically grounded analysis on NRN is still missing.[...

The Role of Christian Faith in Public Moral Discourse: A Comparison of Selected Works from H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., Stanley Hauerwas, and Richard A. McCormick

This dissertation asks, What is the proper role of the Christian and the Christian community in the ethical arena of a pluralistic society? The inherently social nature of human beings means that all ethical judgments regarding right and wrong and the good of the human person have social implications. This is also true of ethical judgments of a religious or theological nature. This dissertation examines how faith in-formed ethical judgments function in a society of diverse faith commitments by examining some of the different understandings of the role of faith in the ethics H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., Stanley Hauerwas, and Richard A. McCormick. This is done so as to illustrate the impact that their different understandings of the role of Christian faith in ethics have on the way that they understand Christian ethics functioning in the public moral discourse. To examine the issue of the role of religiously informed ethical judgments within a religiously pluralistic society, this dissertation examines: the ethical methodology of the three ethicists, their view of Christian ethics, their understanding of how these religiously informed ethical judgments function in the wider society, and their treatment of the issues of euthanasia and universal healthcare. The comparison of the three ethicists begins with an examination of their understanding of the nature of ethics. It then examine how each of these ethicists answers fundamental questions regarding the role of Christian faith in ethics. The final section of this methodological consideration examines their understanding of the notion of public theology. Following the methodological section, the dissertation examines the positions of Engelhardt, Hauerwas, and McCormick on the issues of euthanasia and universal healthcare. This examination illustrates how the different methodological approaches of these three authors manifest themselves in the actual treatment of contemporary ethical issues. The unique contribution to theology that this dissertation makes is a thorough examination of the effect that different positions regarding the role of faith in ethical judgments have on the understanding of the proper role that the Christian and the Christian community ought to play in the ethical arena of contemporary pluralistic society

Urban Planet

Global urbanization promises better services and stronger economies but also carries risks and unforeseeable consequences. Urban Planet highlights the hopes and hindrances of our journey of urbanization and the need for a parallel evolution of our science and systems to ensure we reap the rewards. This title is also available as Open Access

Applied Metaheuristic Computing

For decades, Applied Metaheuristic Computing (AMC) has been a prevailing optimization technique for tackling perplexing engineering and business problems, such as scheduling, routing, ordering, bin packing, assignment, facility layout planning, among others. This is partly because the classic exact methods are constrained with prior assumptions, and partly due to the heuristics being problem-dependent and lacking generalization. AMC, on the contrary, guides the course of low-level heuristics to search beyond the local optimality, which impairs the capability of traditional computation methods. This topic series has collected quality papers proposing cutting-edge methodology and innovative applications which drive the advances of AMC

In the name of status:Adolescent harmful social behavior as strategic self-regulation

Adolescent harmful social behavior is behavior that benefits the person that exhibits it but could harm (the interest of) another. The traditional perspective on adolescent harmful social behavior is that it is what happens when something goes wrong in the developmental process, classifying such behaviors as a self-regulation failure. Yet, theories drawing from evolution theory underscore the adaptiveness of harmful social behavior and argue that such behavior is enacted as a means to gain important resources for survival and reproduction; gaining a position of power This dissertation aims to examine whether adolescent harmful social behavior can indeed be strategic self-regulation, and formulated two questions: Can adolescent harmful social behavior be seen as strategic attempts to obtain social status? And how can we incorporate this status-pursuit perspective more into current interventions that aim to reduce harmful social behavior? To answer these questions, I conducted a meta-review, a meta-analysis, two experimental studies, and an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA). Meta-review findings of this dissertation underscore that when engaging in particular behavior leads to the acquisition of important peer-status-related goals, harmful social behavior may also develop from adequate self-regulation. Empirical findings indicate that the prospect of status affordances can motivate adolescents to engage in harmful social behavior and that descriptive and injunctive peer norms can convey such status prospects effectively. IPDMA findings illustrate that we can reach more adolescent cooperation and collectivism than we are currently promoting via interventions. In this dissertation, I argue we can do this in two ways. One, teach adolescents how they can achieve status by behaving prosocially. And two, change peer norms that reward harmful social behavior with popularity